Anyone who has ever considered buying a safe for your business, you know that there are ways to hack into safes; or, in most cases, attempt to destroy them so they can get at the goods. The great news is that there are quite a few steps and skills that the burglar in question would need to possess and go through in order to get at what they need.

Do People Really Crack Safes?

The short answer is yes. If they see the contents of the safe as being rewarding or valuable, then they will certainly try to crack the combination, beat up the safe, or go as far as cutting it in half. This is a popular enough thought that it was featured on Mythsbusters:

Here they try to duplicate a famous safe crack where there is water and explosives involved. And it was deemed a “plausible” way to get into a safe. There is no shortage of creativity when it comes to safe hacking.

And that old trick about the stethoscope being used to hear the lock combination- eHow tells us that that’s a thing.

It took him a while to do it, but it’s definitely doable.

We just won’t even talk about how easy it was for Alex Lewis to pop that safe.

First, let’s start with some things you can do in order to deter burglars from stealing your safe.

Safe Thief Deterrents

There are a number of things that you can do in order to protect your assets and your profits.

If it isn’t a wall or floor safe, that means it can be set down somewhere. You probably didn’t think to bolt it down because it weighs 304,973,985,794,875 pounds right? Think again- if a thief is determined to get a safe, they will find a way. Don’t make it easier on them! Bolt the safe down so that, if nothing else, they would have to spend more time dislodging it.

Secondly, when is the last time you have changed your combination? Some thieves will go as far as getting up close and personal in order to get at the safe. Change the combinations regularly in order to keep people in their toes- designate a single person to be in charge of the combinations.

Thirdly, know what type of safe you have. Knowing everything about your safe inside and out will help to locate its weakest points. Being armed with this knowledge will tell you if your safe needs backup protection.

Put money into this investment. If you’re trying to deter someone from getting valuable, getting a cheap safe won’t do you any good. Cheap means flimsy, faulty, and weak at best.

What Can Business Owners Do?

The first thing to consider is whether or not people would know about a safe or not. Having one in plain sight is asking for someone to poke at it. Don’t advertise your safes; invest in a wall safe or a floor safe.

Also, consider buying a safe that is made of thicker materials. If a thief has to go through concrete and steel, there is a better chance the thief will either give up or not have tools powerful enough to handle physically working their way into a safe. Check out this video to see what we mean:

Boost your security. If you have the means to do so, having overnight staff to protect your valuables is a good idea. It’s easier to take the time to get into a safe if there is no one around, but the tools needed to crack a safe are rarely quiet enough where they wouldn’t get caught. Video cameras are also a great idea.

Along these same lines, train your staff. Show them how to properly handle emergency situations and who to call in those emergencies.

If you’re interested to know more about how to prevent these occurrences, feel free to contact Value Safes today!

When you think about the security of the valuables, cash and important documents used by your business, one of the first things that should come to mind is safes. A good bolted down safe can keep burglars from getting to these valuable items – they’ll have to settle for what’s easiest to take if they break in. Think about the documents or computer backup data that would be nearly impossible to replace if lost in a burglary or a fire.

So a good burglary rated, fireproof safe is a must for any business. Check to make sure the safe is rated in both of these areas. Some common burglary ratings are UL TL 15 and TL 30. Some commone fireproof ratings are a 1 hour or 2 hour fireproof rating. These ratings mean that these safes have been tested to withstand burglars attempts to open them and tested under actual fire conditions. If you need to safeguard valuable computer backup media, make sure you get a special media fireproof safe, as these have a much stricter rating to ensure that your media would not be damaged during a fire.

Jewelry safes offer a high degree of security for your valuables. Jewelry safes carry a burglary rating, such as the UL TL 15 or TL 30 rating. This rating means that the jewelry safes have been tested against attempts to open them. For example, a TL 15 rating means that a professional locksmith using common locksmithing tools was unable to open the safe in a period of 15 minutes.

Jewelry safes are constructed of special materials. They usually have 5″ thick doors and 1-1/2″ thick steel bodies. They use 1-1/2″ steel locking bolts, and the locking mechanism is surrounded by drill-resistant hardened steel plate. They are designed to be bolted to the floor from the inside. So if you want the most in security for your valuables, consider getting a jewelry safe. For more information on jewelry safes.

Depository safes are safes that don’t require opening in order for items to be stored in them. They allow you to give an employee the ability to add something to the safe without them knowing the combination or pin number to the safe. They are ideal for keeping large amounts of cash during the day. You should move the cash to a more secure safe or to the bank at night, though. Depository safes are designed to keep someone from “fishing” the contents back out through the opening, but they’re not burglar-proof.

If you make it a policy for your employees to make a deposit of large bills or whenever the cash register contains a certain amount, a depository safe could save you a lot of money during a robbery. Even if you happen to be there when a robbery takes place, you can claim ignorance to the combination. But be careful, the robber may have cased the store and know that you’re the owner or manager – no amount of money is worth risking your life over. For more information about depository safes.

If your business deals with a lot of cash or other small valuables, a depository safe can save you time and money. A depository safe is designed to accept small objects like jewelry or cash placed in envelopes without having to open the safe. You just drop the item in a slot or hopper to deposit it into the safe. These safes have built-in baffles to keep someone from “fishing” the contents back out through the opening. So, for example, you could have your cashiers deposit large cash amounts periodically throughout the day or night, so that the cash register never contains a large amount of cash.

If your business is robbed and the cashier does not have access to the depository safe, your cash is safe. A depository safe is not really designed to protect your valuables from a determined burglar, however, so you should periodically empty it and place the contents in a more secure safe or take it to the bank. Depository safes come in all shapes and sizes, with different sized openings, so there’s sure to be one that’s right for your business.

Lets talk about the SB-06c from Cobalt Safes. Fireproof Safe. Burglary Safe. One of the largest in this section! Cobalt Safes model SB-06c Fireproof Safe with Burglary Safe. Has a lifetime fire warrenty and a 5 year warrenty against manufactures defects in labor and materials. This is an extremely good warrenty in that most manufactures will cover similar but Cobalt Safes goes the extra mile and sends a locksmith to your location to repair. Most manufactures are also only 1 year in coverage. With that being said. Keypads are an upgrade and are only warrentied for 1 year. (for more information on keypads vs dials see my article… Keypads vs Dials.

Back to the SB-06c. First take a look at the door, you will see that it is open. There are two major parts, an outer door and then a bolt assembly behind it. This gives it a solid 5 inch thick door on the Cobalt Safe SB-06c. Take into consideration that when the average thief breaking into the average home. He is coming into the house with empty hands and wants to leave with them full. Chances of him bringing tools such as a crowbar or sledge hammers are not the norm. If he does find the safe he will most likely be too unprepared to even beat on it and will quickly move to everything else we leave available in our homes that is easy to pocket and easy to pawn. For most of us its a pretty big list.

Lets pretend we left a crow bar and sledge hammer next to our safe and a small sticky note that says €œbeat me € on the safe. The SB-06c fireproof safe is going to hold up. The outer steel wall, which is an extreme thickness of about 1/8 inch steel is reinforced by a cement based fireproof wall with another steel wall on the interior. This makes for excellant strength against common tools.

The 5 inch thick door is also too thick to get a crow bar down deep enough to actually gain enough purchase to even begin to start using a crow bar on the door. So in my opinion the SB-06c Fire Safe is one of the best buys on the market today.

Combine this with a 2 hour fireproof and a center bolt down (so the safe can’t picked up and carried away) for a sturdy little fortress of protection. Not that someone is going to carry away a 1000 lbs safe!

I also like the size. Though it may be too large for most home situations it does offer good room to grow into. The last thing most of want to do is purchase two safes. I often advise to purchase 1 during your life. But make it something you can grow into because this safe is designed to last a lifetime. Last little note, as we get older, people hate to bend down or squat down. This model is excellent to stand in front of an open without having to bend over.